Best fake tan for legs to give your pins a perfect glow

Best for: a subtle glow

This Works may be best known for its slumber-enducing pillow mists but don’t overlook the brand’s collection of corporal care. This serum-lotion texture is designed specifically for the pins with a subtle tint that blurs imperfections, evens out tone and imparts a natural radiance. It is enriched with brightening vitamin C and without any nasties to leave them silky soft. The product comes in a new entirely recyclable bottle.

Best for: effortless leg application

This is one of the only specifically leg tanning products on the market, creating an airbrushed appearance on your pins with an effortless application. It is described as leg makeup and so boasts a fuss-free process and a formula that can be easily removed with warm water if streaks occur or following an occasion. There’s palamaria extract included that works to counteract uneven tone and minimise the appearance of bruising and scars. Apply onto the legs, leave for one minute to dry and dress as normal.

Best for: dry skin

It is challenging to apply fake tan onto dry areas of the body. Tinted formulas have a way of drawing attention and excacerbating the situation, especially at the legs that are a typically parched part of the body. Enter this serum from Isle of Paradise that turns the process on its head.

It’s a bodycare product first and foremost with hyaluronic acid as the star ingredient to inject moisture into the limbs. This hydrating component locks in the moisture and combined with a complex of grapefruit, chia seed and avocado oils feels nourishing and radiant. But, as you can no doubt assume, there’s a gradual tan too. It’s subtle but buildable and remains lightweight and non-greasy.

Best for: a quick bronzing fix

You may take a quick glance at this fake tan from Tan-Luxe and wonder how the see-through formula can: one, be a mousse texture and, two, have any dyes within the formula. Both are justifiable questions but that’s part of the brand’s raison d’etre.

Tired of thick paint-like tan textures, founder Marc Elrick wanted to turn the formulations of faux glow products on its head with a skin-first approach. This is why you’ll find their products with ingredients you’ll recognise from your bathroom cabinet. For a quick bronzing fix, the new addition to the collection will give you a natural radiance in just 30 minutes.

The foaming texture is free from that traditional fake tan aroma (in fact, it’s actually rather pleasant) and contains hyaluronic acid and vitamin C for moisturising and brightening respectively. It continues to deepen the longer you leave it before washing it off but stops at around the four-hour mark to suit your busy lifestyle.

Best for: an even tan

A spray or mist is a great way to even out your tan if you’re worried about streaky legs or arms. Just like a sun lotion, spray this new oil mist from Isle of Paradise, which applies easier, quicker and more even than a normal lotion.

It’s so hydrating too with hyaluronic acid, glycerin, squalane plus a vitamin-rich sea kelp that leaves skin feeling soft, smooth and tanned. Choose from three different shades - light, medium and dark, the mists come in pretty coloured bottles - adding to the aesthetics of your beauty counter.

Best for: a sun-kissed glow

Skin looking grey, pallid and devoid of any healthy sun-soaked glow? Enter this gradual fake tan from St Tropez. The moisturiser-tan hybrid will help build a natural-looking luminosity to counteract ray-starved complexions - no “you’ve been Tangoed” moments here.

It builds in around four to six hours with a medium colourway that can be deepened with more layers and hydrates at the same time with hyaluronic acid and glycerin. Instead of that traditional biscuit aroma, the luxury tan label has enriched its product with a watermelon scent.

Best for: rapid application

Your diary has unexpectedly filled up with plans and you need to get your pins prepped - stat. That’s where this formula shines. It’s a wash-off body makeup product for when you need a quick fix solution. The Vita Liberata Body Blur is a cult for a reason. The product has an instant smoothing and perfecting effect, evening out the skin tone, while also reflecting light so it provides some serious glow. Make it an even more effortless and even coverage by applying with a mitt and you’ll have a real-life filter with no biscuity aroma.

Best for: fixing imperfections

We’re only human. Mistakes happen. Areas reveal themselves as untanned despite the due care and attention that you paid to the painstaking process. Fear not. The Blend It smooths out uneven fake tanning with a nourishing combination of oils, including coconut, chia seed and avocado. Use on the body and face for streak-free perfection.

Best for: a deep, radiant glow

After a long winter, you may be looking to call in the big guns and that’s the Coco & Eve Sunny Honey Bali Bronzing Foam. The pigmented product comes in mousse form for an immediate golden hue that develops further over the course of two hours.

The formula is made up of a trademarked technology that gives the tan you’ve been looking for, while moisturising the skin. Best of all, no one will second guess the realism of your sunless glow thanks to the mango and guava aroma that won’t give the game away.

Best for: hydration

This is one of the best fake tans on the market for dry skin. The water texture means that, with each and every spritz, you are treating your limbs to a cocktail of hydrating ingredients, while also leaving you with a vacay-worthy bronzing. It’s not the easiest for beginners and you need greater care taken to see the areas that have already been tanned but it dries down instantly and shouldn’t transfer onto clothing or bedsheets. Spray directly onto the skin and use a mitt to ensure no area if left tanless.